Latest from Lora Kolodny
Some 1.4 billion people lack access to electricity worldwide today, most in rural areas across Southeast Asia, China, India and Sub-Saharan Africa. While others are focused on wiring up those…
Voice-controlled technology like Amazon Echo, Siri or hands-free features in Google Maps are things we’re starting to take for granted. But as Mary Meeker’s 2017 Internet Trends Report noted, voice…
Nike-backed Grabit has quietly raised $25 million for robots that handle what others can’t grasp
Robot arms have come a long way since the 1960’s when George C. Devol and Joseph Engelberger created the earliest industrial models. Those had two-finger grippers that, in retrospect, look…
The makers of Epic!, one of many apps jockeying to become a “Netflix for books,” have raised $8 million in a round led by Reach Capital, the education-specialized venture firm.…
When Solar Impulse pilot Bertrand Piccard set out to fly around the world in a plane that uses no fuel, he knew he wasn’t going to get much rest. During the…
Bike sharing has taken a turn in the U.S. The new mode is “dockless,” where companies distribute bikes around a city or campus to be rented per trip instead of…
Shenzhen-based Kuang-Chi Group is investing $5 million in SkyX Systems Corp., according to the drone tech startup’s founder and CEO Didi Horn. A former fighter pilot with the Israeli Air…
Impossible Foods has raised more than $200 million to make a burger engineered from plants that tastes at least as good as ground beef. The company’s many backers are hoping…
Autonomous vehicles all need sensors that can help them detect and avoid objects in their environment. And to operate at high speeds, these sophisticated machines need to identify objects ahead…
Handy CEO Oisin Hanrahan, and Managed by Q CEO Dan Teran joined TechCrunch Disrupt in New York on Tuesday to discuss the evolution and shortcomings of the so-called “gig economy.” Both…
By 2020, an estimated 75 percent of cars will be internet-connected worldwide, according to estimates from the FBI, Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That connectivity…
If RecordGram has its way, top record producers will all turn to their app, a kind of mobile recording studio, to find the next Justin Bieber or Nicki Minaj. And…
When he worked at Shapeways just a few years ago, customers constantly asked Graham Bredemeyer if they could get their designs made out of metal by the 3D printing services…
The founders of Glossier and Outdoor Voices, Emily Weiss and Tyler Haney, respectively, spoke at TechCrunch Disrupt in New York today about how they’re taking a bite out of the…
Delivery robots are seen as novelties, job-killers and a gimmicky way for restaurants to reach nearby customers. The newest entrant in this logistics segment is a Swiss startup called Teleretail…
At the TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon in New York today, a team of sophomores from Rutgers University introduced a social robot, named Robota, to help teachers in special ed classrooms.
A meal kit startup with a focus on healthful recipes and organic ingredients, Sun Basket, has just raised $9 million in series C-2 round of venture funding led by Unilever…
HelloFresh is launching a wine club, taking a page from the Blue Apron playbook
As competition among them heats up, meal kit startups are expanding their repertoire, including by selling their dinner kits at groceries and adding new products to their catalogs. Today, early…
Oakland, Calif.-based Ceres Imaging has raised $5 million in a Series A investment led by Romulus Capital. The startup uses cameras, sensors and software to pinpoint crop stress in the field…
Whether flying food or medication to customers’ doors, drones for delivery have arrived. Businesses as far-ranging as UPS, Domino’s, Amazon and the hospital group Ticino EOC are testing drones. Still,…
Whether you call them granny units, in-laws or backyard studios, accessory dwelling units are rising in popularity in the U.S., in part due to new regulations that make it easier…
As drones became available to private citizens around the world, bad actors found ways to use them for nefarious purposes, like spying, carrying contraband across borders and turning the aerial…
Made In Space is known as the company behind the 3D printers on board the International Space Station. Astronauts have used the startup’s Additive Manufacturing Facility to churn out everything…
In 1997, robotic scientist Rodney Brooks predicted a future where sensors and robots would be pervasive, and people could simply tell a door to open. His prognostication has come to…
Early-stage investors YL Ventures have raised a $75 million fund, their third, to back Israeli software startups seeking to enter the U.S. market. The firm maintains offices in Tel Aviv…
Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed today that the hardware titans have formed a new, $1 billion fund to promote advanced manufacturing jobs in the U.S. Cook said Apple will reveal…
GV (formerly Google Ventures) is leading a $10 million investment in Abundant Robotics, a company building apple-picking robots that could eventually be adapted to harvest other fruits. Joining GV in…
Food and beverage startups backed by tech investors are having a rough go of it this season, with Juicero all but melting down and companies like Beyond Meat, Urban Remedy and…
Yik Yak co-founders Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington published a farewell note to users on Friday, announcing they would shut down their once-popular anonymous social network this week. The app…
An early player in drone-tech, 3D Robotics Inc. on Thursday announced that it has raised $53 million in a Series D round of funding, including new equity funding and conversion…